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Getting lost in details with Egidius Bink

He created Volkshotel’s Amsterdam Oost map and has his studio at Broedplaats. Egidius Bink creates clear, but detailed vintage-feel drawings. With a keen eye for colour, he strives to get the most out of every drawing he makes. This is Egidius. About quirky contradictions, right colouring and perfectionism.

So Egidius, what is it you draw?
“Gee, that can be anything, really. My drawings have a hint of comics, design, dark humour, odd moods and bygone days in them. The warm colours often give them a bit of a vintage feel. I like to experiment with contradictions like present and past. Absurdism and realism. True perspective and isometric perspective. 2D and 3D. You’ll see that my work is a mix of all of that. That gives every drawing a quirkiness that challenges the mind. Also, by not showing all elements fully, I try to dare the viewer to imagine more than what you actually see.”

When making an illustration, where do you start?
“It starts with inspiration. And that can be anything. Normal things that have some absurdness about them, memories of a dream, colours in an old stylistic movie. When an idea pops up, usually at night, I quickly sketch it in my sketchbook. After that I make bigger sketches and when it’s clear how it should look, I start drawing for real. A technique I use a lot is drawing the lines with pencil in the right size and then tracing the lines with a drawing pen. For the colours I use ecoline and acryl paint and the computer to post process. I actually spend a lot of time on that. Getting everything just right. But I don’t want to say too much about that.”

We understand. It’s one of the tricks of the trade.
“Exactly.”

Your ‘Lost in Autumn’ drawing looks super detailed. That must have taken ages to complete.
“Yeah, it did! It was an insanely amount of work to get all of those leaves done. With all the different layers of leaves, as well as the colours. But in the end every little detail makes sense. I like that.”

How important are the right colours for you?
“Really important. This can make or break a drawing. Sometimes I get it right straight away. Other times it takes longer to get everything just right. When I’m happy with the final drawing I go to the printing lab to make some test prints. It often takes a while to get the colours perfect in the printed version as well. I’m quite keen on that. I’m sure the people at the printing lab often think: “There he is again…””

Being so involved in details and getting all the colours just right, would you say you’re a perfectionist?
“As a kid, I already loved getting lost in details and the worlds I created. And still, I do try to get the most out of my drawings. If I feel that I can make it better, I just continue doing so. Sometimes I wish I could let go of that a bit more though.”

Is it ever perfect?
“I don’t think so. But I’m happy when I see drawings that I’ve created in the past. I think: “Well, that looks fine”. So I guess it’s worth the effort. In the future I do like to challenge myself in creating work that is less precise. A bit rougher and loose. Maybe mix techniques by partly using neat lines and adding wilder paint strokes. Wait, isn’t this interview getting too serious?